


Welcome Home, Magnus

by AtowncalledMalec



Series: Tentacletober [22]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, malec - Fandom
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post Office worker Alec, Post Office worker Magnus, Scared Magnus Bane, Supportive Alec Lightwood, Tentacles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 20:35:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21259262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtowncalledMalec/pseuds/AtowncalledMalec
Summary: Magnus Bane has got a secret. He thinks nobody in his small town knows.This work is not to be reposted anywhere else or translated without my permission.





	Welcome Home, Magnus

**Author's Note:**

> Short and sweet this time. 
> 
> Prompt #31 I Can Explain!
> 
> I'm posting this one now because I already had it written. I'll be posting prompt #28 when it's done. Possibly tomorrow.

Magnus glanced down at his phone, his brow furrowing with worry. The text, from his boss, sounded ominous.

** _Magnus, please report to my office. Immediately._ **

Of course, Magnus started running through possible scenarios in his head. The most obvious scenario worried him most, even if he didn’t know what he could have done to get himself fired.

Magnus worked hard at the small post office in his tiny town. He was trusted to sort the mail by himself during the graveyard shift and was always commended for how much work he got through. 

_ “...Six times as much as the day staff…” _ his boss would always joke. 

Magnus was never late, never complained, had never even had a complaint made against him. Hell, he even had his own set of keys. ‘Employee of The Month’ might as well be his middle name.

_ Maybe I’m getting a promotion,  _ Magnus tried to console himself. That scenario seemed as unlikely as the first. In all honesty, he didn’t quite know what he would even be promoted to.

Stuffing his jacket in his locker and giving the departing day shift crew a nod, he steeled himself to face his boss. Until a thought brought him up short.  _ What if he wants to transfer me to another branch. Or to the day shift?  _

That thought really had Magnus chewing his lip. He could _ not _ work the day shift. There was no way. And it had taken him six months to gain enough trust to work the night shift by himself. What if he was sent to another branch and they wouldn’t allow him the same luxury? No, that couldn’t be it. Their town was small and remote, miles away from anywhere else. 

Magnus’ palms turned clammy when he reached his boss's door. Every scenario crashed through his head at once, leaving him with barely enough self-awareness to control himself. To control his…  _ Focus,  _ he admonished himself, reigning his body in with practiced self-control that he had spent years honing. 393 years, to be exact. 

Raising his hand, Magnus took a deep breath and knocked on the door, letting himself into the office when the required “come in” sounded.

“Mr. Lightwood, you wanted to see me?” Magnus asked, thanking fate when his voice didn’t shake. Alec Lightwood, the guy that he’d worked for, for the last year, pierced him with the most extraordinary hazel gaze.  _ Beautiful,  _ he thought, staring at the man that he’d been in love with since the day they had met.

“Magnus, take a seat,” Alec said, gesturing to the vacant chair on the other side of the desk. “And close the door,” he added. As soon as Magnus turned to close the door, he took the opportunity to let his eyes sweep over his best employee. And certainly the most beautiful.

“I don’t know what I’ve done wrong but I assure you, I can fix it,” Magnus said when he folded himself into the offered chair and met Alec’s gaze.

“You haven’t done anything wrong, Magnus. And I’ve told you, call me Alec, please?” Alec said. Magnus had always cultivated a professional relationship with him and the other eight employees that worked at the post office, always maintaining a safe distance. Now he knew why.

“You know, I always wondered how you got so much work done around here,” Alec said, turning his laptop around to show Magnus the reason he had been called in.

“I can explain…” Magnus breathed, horrified by what he saw on Mr. Lightwood’s laptop. Unable to stop himself from skittering back, he almost lost control of himself, along with his chair. 

Of course, Magnus couldn’t explain. How do you explain the six thick tentacles snaking from your back, sorting the town’s mail into neat piles, ready for the day shift to deliver the next day?

“I can… I can… wait. When did we get CCTV?” Magnus asked, his eyes flicking up to inspect the ceiling. Confusion didn’t even begin to cover what he felt. The fact that he had the building to himself at night and the knowledge that nobody would ever see them was the only reason he felt comfortable being his true self.

“Magnus, we work for the Federal Government. They were bound to install CCTV at some point, even in a town this far out of the way of civilization,” Alec pointed out. “Did you think you could hide this forever?” he asked.

“Why aren’t you running for the hills? Or raiding the town’s pitchfork supply?” Magnus asked, sinking in on himself. He could already hear the baying of the hounds. Or was that the pounding of his heart?

“Why would I do that?” Alec chuckled, steadily meeting Magnus’ gaze across the desk. “You don’t have to hide who you are here, Magnus. Not anymore,” he said, a soft smile tugging the corners of his lips up.

Magnus’ eyes widened when two, four, eight tentacles snaked out from behind Alec’s back, each appendage-the perfect match to Alec’s skin tone-reaching toward him over the desk. 

The careful control that Magnus had always held over himself- whenever he was in the presence of another person- snapped. Never before, in his very long existence, had he met another like himself. Abandoned as a child, probably for this very reason, he had never known his parents, his family.

Alec’s face lit up when one brave tentacle snaked over Magnus’ shoulder, the beautiful golden appendage brushing Magnus’ face- as if to reassure Magnus- before reaching out to meet his own.

A shudder ran down Magnus’ spine when their tentacles brushed against each other. The sensation should have felt alien to him. But it didn’t. It felt like home. With the first touch, the rest of his tentacles rose up, desperate for more contact.

“It’s funny, I didn’t think it was possible for you to be more beautiful,” Alec said, watching Magnus’ tentacles emerge, almost shyly, from behind Magnus’ back. The unshed tears that he saw in Magnus’ eyes had one of his own tentacles snaking forward, reaching out to cup Magnus’ cheek.

Magnus leaned into Alec’s touch, his heart thundering at full capacity when he saw the acceptance in Alec’s eyes. Alec didn’t see a monster. He saw a kindred spirit. 

“It was no accident that you were drawn to this town, Magnus. We all wondered when you showed up here a year ago, speculated whether you were different. Like the rest of us. This place is a natural haven, drawing people like us here,” Alec said.

“There are more people like us here?” Magnus asked, watching his tentacles move of their own volition, each one reaching out to touch one of Alec’s tentacles.

“Not exactly. But there isn’t one regular human being here. It will be nice not to have to hide anymore,” Alec shrugged, standing up from his chair. Keeping contact with Magnus’ tentacles, he circled the desk and perched on the edge of it, in front of Magnus. 

“We’ve all been hiding our true forms since you showed up amongst us. There have been rumors flying around that you’re a government agent sent here to spy on us,” Alec chuckled. The rumor mill in their small town was rife with speculation.

“Nobody ever said anything to me,” Magnus said, wondering what the other townsfolk truly looked like.

“Of course they didn’t. If you were from the government, we’d all be carted away to be poked and prodded. Nobody was gonna rat themselves out,” Alec said with a grin.

“My sister has hacked into the government’s servers to remove the footage from the last few days. It would be better if you didn’t let them out while you’re here,” Alec said, smiling when Magnus nodded his agreement. 

“So, you think I’m beautiful?” Magnus asked, remembering Alec’s earlier words.

Alec reached out with his tentacles, pulling Magnus up from his chair, and wrapped himself around Magnus’ body. A shiver ran through him when Magnus’ tentacles held him in a tight embrace, their appendages entwined.

“What do you think?” Alec asked, leaning the last inch to brush his lips over Magnus’. “Welcome home, Magnus,” he said before capturing Magnus’ lips.


End file.
